The present embodiments relate generally to systems and methods for gripping and handling a bead apex, such as one applied to a bead ring, in an improved manner.
Many types of vehicular tires include beads surrounding the openings that engage the wheel rim. In general, beads comprise a wire coil in the nature of a hoop formed by winding multiple turns of a coated wire on a suitable bead forming apparatus. The bead may be made up of multiple, radially and axially arranged turns of a single wire or, in so-called weftless beads, of radially stacked layers of a flat ribbon including a plurality of side-by-side wires.
Techniques have been used for applying a bead apex to the peripheral surface of a bead ring. In general, the bead apex is formed by extrusion of a material to a relatively thin shape having a generally triangular cross-section. The extruded bead apex then is maneuvered and applied to the peripheral surface of a bead ring, often times without effective gripping capability of the bead apex during the process. Moreover, the bead apex may be held with levels of tension applied to the bead ring that may cause undesirable end results when the bead apex is applied to the bead ring, prior to these components being passed to subsequent tire forming equipment.